Remains Identified as Missing Los Alamos Lab Employee Melissa Casias in New Mexico Forest

Human remains found by a hiker last week in a remote area of Carson National Forest in New Mexico have been positively identified as those of Melissa Casias, a 53-year-old Los Alamos National Laboratory employee who had been missing since last June, according to officials.

The discovery was made in the McGaffey Ridge area, approximately 6 miles from Casias’s home in Ranchos de Taos. New Mexico State Police said in a statement Saturday that a handgun was also recovered alongside the remains. The state’s Medical Investigator’s Office will determine the cause and manner of death, police added.

The case, which drew widespread attention given Casias’s employment at the federal energy research lab and the puzzling circumstances of her disappearance, took a new turn with the identification. Casias was last seen on June 26, 2023, when she failed to report for work. Her supervisor contacted her husband, Mark Casias, who also worked at the lab, after she didn’t arrive for her shift.

Mark Casias told investigators last year that he had dropped his wife off at the lab earlier that day, and she said she was heading to another location on site for a work task. When she didn’t return as planned, he grew concerned. Later that afternoon, a family acquaintance reported seeing Melissa walking eastbound along State Road 518, a highway that leads into the forest.

The couple’s daughter, Sierra, later discovered her mother’s personal belongings—including keys and a cellphone that had been reset to factory settings—inside the family home. Mark Casias previously said he reviewed documents indicating Melissa was under significant stress at the time, though he declined to elaborate.

Authorities initially did not rule out foul play but also acknowledged the possibility that Casias may have left voluntarily. State Police Sgt. Ricardo Breceda said last year that it “may be the case” she disappeared of her own volition. The investigation remains ongoing, and police have extended their “deepest condolences” to the Casias family.

A representative for the family declined to comment ahead of a planned meeting with investigators. Los Alamos National Laboratory representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment Sunday. The case has highlighted the challenges of searching for missing persons in the vast, rugged terrain of northern New Mexico’s national forests.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com